I'm not too worried by the guard switch. First of all, it's the off season, not a midseason or midgame swap and so they should have plenty of time to adjust. Secondly, and I could be wrong here as I never played offensive line, but swapping sides as a guard doesn't seem to be as drastic of a change as it is for a tackle as they will still be playing in a confined space. Maybe the familiarity of the tackle each is playing next to is more important than the side of the line? Either way, it is still very early and they can always swap back if it backfires.

I'm not too worried by the guard switch. First of all, it's the off season, not a midseason or midgame swap and so they should have plenty of time to adjust. Secondly, and I could be wrong here as I never played offensive line, but swapping sides as a guard doesn't seem to be as drastic of a change as it is for a tackle as they will still be playing in a confined space. Maybe the familiarity of the tackle each is playing next to is more important than the side of the line? Either way, it is still very early and they can always swap back if it backfires.

In moving the guards, there may not be a huge difference in left versus right, but there will be a new "spot" for them to get used to and they're moving the players from spots where they've shown to play best. I guess I always get the feeling that the left side houses the guys who move their feet a little better and the right side is set more for the "maulers" of the line.

That may be so. I guess I don't have a problem with them trying something new. Obviously there was still room for improvement from last year, but worst case scenario they can always swap back. I trust the coaching staff to put the best line out there.

In moving the guards, there may not be a huge difference in left versus right, but there will be a new "spot" for them to get used to and they're moving the players from spots where they've shown to play best. I guess I always get the feeling that the left side houses the guys who move their feet a little better and the right side is set more for the "maulers" of the line.

McCarthy actually alluded to the 'mauler' playing on the right or 'strong' side, which gave me pause because I've never thought of Lang as a mauler.

Quote:

McCarthy agreed that Lang is probably better suited for right guard, at least in the sense of a traditional offense in which a large, powerful man can help the run game. The Packers don't traditionally run to the strong side more than any other, but McCarthy likes Lang in that position.

Was just curious and looked up the roster. Lang and Sitton are listed at the exactly same height and weight.

Bottom line is A) McCarthy wants to cut down on the hits to Rodgers, B) McCarthy wants the OL to open up a few more holes for the new RB's... there's no reason with this set of RB's, with the D focus still on the MVP passer, that the running game shouldn't be able to average YPC that ranks in the Top 10, at the least.

McCarthy actually alluded to the 'mauler' playing on the right or 'strong' side, which gave me pause because I've never thought of Lang as a mauler.

Was just curious and looked up the roster. Lang and Sitton are listed at the exactly same height and weight.

It's not so much as Lang is better suited to the right as Sitton is a superior guard and they want their best two lineman on the left side.

This is a risky move but one I completely agree with. Sitton will be able to help out Bulaga with the transition and I would be shocked if we don't start the season sending a lot of TE and FB chips over there to ease the transition.

I have to imagine Barclay will get the RT nod. He can't be a LT which makes Newhouse more valuable as a #1 tackle backup. Plus Newhouse is definitely not a mauler.

Frankly, I can't see this move backfiring too badly. Our line really wasn't good last year and I can't imagine putting our two best lineman on the more important side will somehow manage to downgrade that.

I am excited to see what our running game looks like this year. I am also really curious to see if Quarless isn't our #1 TE by the end of the year.

There's a muscle memory issue that comes into play. They've spent thousands of hours teaching these guys to move one way, and now they're asking them to spend thousands of hours adjusting to a similar but different movement.

If it works out then I'm all for it, but it does seem a little ballsy.

It's not really risky at all. If it doesn't work you just switch them back.

I don't think it's quite as easy as that. Lineman especially count on repetition to establish continuity and there will always be a transitional period when moving them. Granted, it would be a quicker one if they were moving back to the normal sides but there would still be a few rusty games in store.

As WCH mentioned, when you've been training all summer to block off your left shoulder and plant your left foot, and they all of a sudden want you blocking off your right shoulder and planting your right foot.. it takes reps to get the instinct back. You don't want to have to think about it.

IF IF IF IF IF we can have a healthier-than-average season (we're overdue), and we get Nick Perry back along with the new guys, I can see our defense kicking some arse this year.
With some pressure up front, I believe either McMillian, MD Jennings, or Sean Richardson will be at least adequate and perhaps pretty good.

If we can get Clay, Nick, and Datone hunting QBs, plus maybe Raji & Neal from the interior, I believe our pass defense will be super.

And we get a crack at Kaepernick in week one. I like that.
Let's hit that ***** in the face for once. We never even tackled that skinny speedster last time.

And we get a crack at Kaepernick in week one. I like that.
Let's hit that ***** in the face for once. We never even tackled that skinny speedster last time.

I hate playing San Francisco in week one, just like we had to this past season. Jim Harbaugh is such a brilliant coach and having to face him first after an off-season of scheming, is not a good thing for the Packers defense.

Nick Perry is a very good OLB
Datone Jones is a beast on the inside.
BJ Raji goes back to 2010 Raji.
Mike Neal stays healthy.

Perry-Datone-Raji-Neal-Clay

Pass rush from every spot on the defensive line!!!!

I could see that combination in certain situations but I'll be surprised if that is the base personnel. Just too light.

More likely to be Perry-Pickett-Raji-Datone-Clay in base. With Neal rotating in to keep Datone fresh. They'll have a lot of options in nickel this year. I can see them trying a lot of combinations with two down linemen.

One thing I think Datone will let them do is bring back the Psycho package a little bit more as a wrinkle. Cullen's athleticism really made that formation possible with his ability to stand up at his size. Datone has that ability.

Meh, why do we need to have 2 massive guys in there? No other 3-4 defenses have a Raji next to a Pickett. And you see 4-3 defenses that don't even have a guy over 300lbs.

Datone Jones is good against the run and will give 500 times more pass rush than Pickett.

I'd prefer to just see that front in obvious run situations and maybe when we're playing against Adrian Peterson.

We can use Pickett more as the rotation for Raji. He's been playing too many snaps and we need someone to take some of those away from him.

EDIT: Tbh, the only time I expect to see our "base" defense is in obvious running situations, so Pickett probably will be part of it. But if it's 1st and 10 and we're going to the base defense, i'd prefer to see Datone and Neal in there instead.

Franklin, thanks to UCLA's quarters system, will be behind right away entering training camp. But will it keep him fresher?

Quote:

Running back Johnathan Franklin, a fourth-round draft pick of the Green Bay Packers, has to miss all of the teamís remaining offseason work except this weekendís mandatory minicamp because of the NFLís graduation-related rules.

But his teammate at UCLA, defensive lineman Datone Jones, can participate in all offseason work because he graduated last year.

According to NFL rules, rookies canít take part in their new teamís offseason practices, except for their rookie minicamp, until after their schoolsí final exams in the spring or summer.

UCLA is one of the relatively few schools on the quarters system, and according to its website, its exams end Friday, June 14.
The Packersí offseason OTA practices begin next week and finish the week of June 14, so Franklin will have to miss all 10 of those practices plus the full-squad, mandatory minicamp held June 4-6.

Franklin is allowed to participate in this weekendís rookie minicamp, but that will be the extent of his offseason work with the Packers.

Franklin is extremely intelligent and experienced. He also played under a former NFL coach so things like blitz pickup (where he excels) won't be as big of an issue in missing minicamp as it would be if it were another player.

So I watched some more tape of Lacy and I'm even more on board with him as a potential star.

Yes, his OLine was great but when he was met in the hole by SEC defenders, often guys that either went first round already or are predicted to, he very often was able to get past them and turn what should have been a loss or no gain into big plays. His mix of elusiveness and power is really, really ideal; he prefers to use his niftiness to get by people but when he knows someone has him dead to rights he'll initiate with great power on them.

Also, I think his speed is underrated. I saw him accelerating away from LSU and Georgia defensive backs on more than one occasion. No, he's not a burner but he won't get caught from behind when he clears the second level. He uses his speed to the best of his ability; when he hits that second level he throttles down and really tries to score, which is something I didn't see out of Ball or Bell at all (Lacy definitely has the best game speed of the three, in my opinion.)

The only worry with Lacy is the injury (fused toes) really.
A couple other teams already publicly said that's why they didn't take him, Denver & Pittsburgh went with Ball and Bell instead.
It's no secret we've had injury problems. I hope this isn't another case... usually it seems our medical guys are more cautious than other teams.

Why the **** does the NFL give a **** if these dudes have final exams? I'm sure Franklin would do just fine if he had to withdraw this quarter.

It's a good rule. Not everyone is going to last in the NFL. He could break his leg in training camp and his career could be over. Especially as he was a senior, he should be getting his degree after this. No reason to throw away a full semester, or quarter or whatever, just to get to camp a little earlier.